Putting College Football On Notice

This is a message for college football programs across the country — consider yourself warned.

Virginia Tech's hiring of James Franklin is a shot across the bow of college football. The entire Atlantic Coast Conference, and the rest of the country, is now on notice.

For its entire existence, Virginia Tech has played small ball when it comes to finances. The Hokies have never led the way in fundraising or sponsorship dollars. Even after Frank Beamer and Michael Vick made Virginia Tech a nationally-relevant brand, the Hokies have never been able to compete with the Alabamas, the Georgias, and the Ohio States on the balance sheet.

Until now.

The Board of Visitors' pledge of $229 million to support the athletic department has helped level the playing field. That amount, which includes $47 million in Fiscal Year 2026 alone, puts Virginia Tech among the elite athletic programs in terms of financial resources. It also made Virginia Tech an attractive destination for an elite football coach — especially one who shouldn't have been available.

Penn State jumped the gun when it fired Franklin on Oct. 12 following an ugly loss to Northwestern. The Nittany Lions dismissed a head coach that vaulted the program to national prominence after crippling sanctions nearly killed it. In case you didn't know, Franklin won nine or more games in seven of his 11-plus seasons in Happy Valley. Franklin took Penn State to six New Year's Six bowl games and won the Big Ten title in 2016. Last year, Franklin was just three points away from competing for a national championship.

In any sane world, a head coach with those credentials would be afforded a down season. We do not, however, live in a sane world, and Franklin's successes were quickly swept under the rug while he cleaned out his office.

Franklin shouldn't have been available, but he was. Virginia Tech pounced, identified Franklin as its top candidate, and locked him in before the 2025 season even ended.

That's a big-boy move.

Schools like Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State, the kinds that Virginia Tech wants to compete with, would have done the same thing. When you need a new head coach, you find the best candidate available and do what it takes to get the deal done. You don't take no for an answer.

For all the issues with Virginia Tech's athletic department leadership, the search committee and President Tim Sands deserve considerable praise for getting Franklin signed.

Virginia Tech's newfound ability to play hardball, and its willingness to spend, prove that the Hokies aren't fooling around anymore. The excuses have been removed. The war chest is full and the checkbook is open. It's time to win.

Franklin is the exact hire you make when the time to win is now. He wasted little time at both Vanderbilt and Penn State, winning nine games in his second season in Nashville and 11 games in his third season in State College. 

Franklin checks just about every box — he's a winner, he's built coaching staffs that can recruit and develop, and he can ignite a fan base. When you think about it, there aren't many head coaches in the country as accomplished as Franklin. 

If this column sounds like I'm bullish on the future of Virginia Tech football, it's because I am. Not only has the university committed to funding the program at an elite level, but the power brokers in Blacksburg just stole one of the best coaches in the sport away from one of the most accomplished programs in the country.

I've been saying for well over a year that Virginia Tech didn't have a resource problem — it had a people problem. The expectation at Virginia Tech isn't to compete for national championships every year, but to compete for conference championships on a consistent basis. You're telling me that Virginia Tech now has someone who has competed for — and won — a Big Ten championship, and he now has more resources than any coach in the history of the school?

Sign me up.

I'm all in on James Franklin. Virginia Tech desperately needs a coach who can reverse the downward trend of the program, put the Hokies back on the map, and give a hungry, passionate fan base the winner it so richly deserves.

The time has come. Virginia Tech has been bullied from coast-to-coast for far too long. To everyone in the ACC, and to college football programs across the country — consider yourself warned.

(Photo by The Associated Press)